Bay City man gets 19 months to 20 years in prison for selling crack cocaine to undercover officers

BAY CITY, MI — A 20-year-old man could spend up to the next two decades in prison for repeatedly selling crack cocaine to undercover Bay City police officers, a crime the man says he only committed for his family’s sake.

Bay County Circuit Judge Harry P. Gill on Monday, Oct. 29, sentenced Julien J. “Juice” Barnes to 19 months to 20 years in prison, with credit for 182 days served. Barnes in September pleaded guilty to three counts of delivery of less than 50 grams of a controlled substance, a 20-year felony. In exchange for his pleas, prosecutors agreed to dismiss four more counts of the same charge, two counts of felony firearm and one count of illegal possession of a firearm.

A contrite Barnes on Monday said he had a troubled youth and that his parents’ separation when he was young forced him to become an adult early on.

“I decided to sell drugs so I could provide for my family,” he told Gill, adding he was determined to get turn his life around. “I moved to Bay City to get away from trouble and be a better person. My next step is to finish high school and go to college.”

Police previously reported that Barnes on April 16, 17, 18, 24 and 30 sold crack to an undercover officer of the Bay City Police Department's VIPER Unit. The officer wrote in his report that he bought between $40 and $60 in crack at a time at Barnes' apartment in the 300 block of North Jefferson Street.

Police executed a search warrant on Barnes' residence on May 1 and recovered crack, assorted paraphernalia, a 9mm assault carbine and about $1,500 in cash.